Wednesday, June 1, 2016

EXTREME CORRUPTION REQUIRES EXTREME MEASURES

There is no salvaging this so-called political Establishment. Better to junk it and start with some new fresh ideas and people; a system based on one person - one vote that represents all the people, not a political machine made up of a small group with special interests that serve themselves.

Ironically, the two parties reached this collision point from opposite directions. The Republican Party’s establishment wanted almost anyone but Trump but the party’s favored candidates fell victim to the reality TV star’s skill at exploiting their weaknesses – almost as if he were playing a high-stakes reality TV show.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

In contrast, the Democratic Party’s leadership tried to arrange a coronation for Hillary Clinton by discouraging other candidates from challenging the powerful Clinton machine, arguing that a virtually uncontested nomination would save money and limit the exposure of Clinton’s political weaknesses.

But the unlikely candidacy of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, technically an Independent although he caucuses with the Senate Democrats, revealed both a powerful hunger for change within the Democratic Party and Clinton’s political vulnerabilities amid a season of voter discontent.

Whereas Republican leaders failed to suppress their voters’ uprising – as Trump torched his GOP rivals one after another – the Democratic leadership did all they could to save Clinton, virtually pushing her badly damaged bandwagon toward the finish line while shouting at Sanders to concede.

But it has now dawned on some savvy Democrats that Clinton’s campaign vehicle may be damaged beyond repair, especially if more harm is inflicted by the FBI’s findings about her sloppy handling of government secrets. The Democrats see themselves stuck with a status-quo, legacy candidate at a moment when the public is disgusted with government dysfunction and demanding change.

Yet, whether the Democrats have the guts to go through the pain of denying Clinton the nomination may depend on what happens in California and inside the FBI.

The corruption is indeed extreme and requires extreme measures to counteract it. You can start with the bank debacle of 2008 which consisted of untold numbers of criminal/fraudulent acts for which admissions of guilt were made but still no one was prosecuted. Don’t you think that’s strange in a country that claims to adhere to the rule of law? These criminal acts were committed in the Bush term but were ignored and condoned in Obama’s administration.

Another example is the privatized prison system which goes unabated under the Obama administration. Let’s take drug related crimes as an example of an extremely corrupted justice system.

One look at the prison population will show you how corrupt the system is. The cells are stuffed full of the under represented poor while to better connected group(s) that are committing the same crime are carted off to cozy rehab center. Extreme injustice? Yes indeed.

Then there's the rich kid who claimed he was too wealthy to know the difference between right and wrong (the afluenza defense) that got off killing people with his car which has got to be the most blatant example of how extremely corrupted the justice system is.

The Democrats have a clear option in Bernie, who is NOT a part of the same system and which is why he’s referred to as an “outsider” and who has stayed true to his principles by maintaining his Independent status most of his life.

He has drawn a red line when it comes to taking PAC money and has demonstrated how corrupt the system is by playing with a whole new set of rules; small donations from the people who he speaks for and will represent once elected. How’s that for an extremely novel idea?